What Kids Say about Smartphones and Sleep

Late last year, the Pew Research Center conducted a survey of almost fourteen hundred teens, ages thirteen to seventeen, to come to an understanding of our teenagers’ experiences and attitudes around social media and their mental health. One of the most interesting findings is one that really isn’t that surprising, especially if you’ve been tracking with the data on how digital devices are interrupting our kids sleep patterns. Forty five percent of the kids surveyed said that social media sites hurt the amount of sleep they get. Only four percent of kids say social media sites help their sleep, while thirty two percent are neutral. As you’ve heard us say here many times before, God made us for a rhythm of work and rest, and our kids need over nine hours of uninterrupted sleep each night for healthy growth and development. Parents, one of the first and most helpful parenting steps you can take is to get the phones out of their rooms. Doing this will contribute to their health and flourishing.